Terps Host Florida State Saturday Afternoon

Maryland Athletics

2-7-2014

Maryland returns to Comcast Center from a two-game road swing Saturday as it takes on Florida State at 3 p.m. The Terps -- 3-1 in ACC play at home -- are looking to avenge an 85-61 loss to the Seminoles earlier this season in Tallahassee, Fla.

• The Terrapins lead the all-time series against FSU, 29-14, including a 7-1 mark in Comcast Center. The series began in Florida State’s inaugural ACC season in 1992, when the Seminoles came away with a thrilling 91-83 overtime victory at Cole Field House.

• Junior Dez Wells continued his torrid scoring streak in the Terps’ loss at North Carolina, scoring 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting. The Raleigh, N.C. native has scored at least 18 points in four consecutive games, shooting 67 percent during that span for an average of 19.3 points/g.

• The Terps fell victim to a hot-shooting Florida State team in their first matchup on Jan. 12, when the Seminoles knocked down a season-high 16 3-point baskets. Take away the Maryland game, and FSU is averaging just five 3-pointers per game in ACC action.

• Junior Nick Faust scored 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting to lead the Terps against the ‘Noles on Jan. 12, while Dez Wells added 15 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the charity stripe. Maryland will need better production from its bench, which was outscored 44-18 in the meeting.

• Maryland is 10-1 this season when holding opponents under 70 points. The Terps are also 12-1 when shooting a higher field goal percentage than their opponent and 10-1 when leading at the half.

North Carolina Beats Maryland, 75-63Dez Wells scored 18 points, Evan Smotrycz added 14 points and Charles Mitchell pulled down 13 rebounds as Maryland fell to North Carolina 75-63 on Tuesday night. Brice Johnson added 19 points on 8-for-8 shooting off the bench for the Tar Heels (15-7, 5-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who jumped to a 16-point lead in the game’s opening minutes and led the entire way. North Carolina shot 49 percent, scored 19 points off turnovers and controlled the boards to beat the Terrapins (13-10, 5-5) for the 14th time in 18 meetings. Trailing 19-3 in the opening minutes, the Terrapins locked down on defense and held the Tar Heels without a field goal for more than four minutes. An 8-0 run propelled the Terps to a three-point deficit late in the half.

Scouting Florida State Maryland fell to Florida State in Tallahassee earlier this season, 85-61, as the Seminoles shot the lights out with 16 three-point baskets. Subtracting its game against Maryland, FSU is averaging just five 3-pointers per game in ACC play. The ‘Noles have gone 3-4 since defeating the Terps, including a three-game stretch of losses to Duke, NC State and Clemson. The Seminoles currently lead the conference in total blocks (124) due to the shot blocking prowess of Boris Bojanovsky (1.9/g). Florida State is also highly efficient from the field, collectively shooting 47 percent on the season. Florida State has three players averaging more than 12 points -- Aaron Thomas (13.0 ppg), Okaro White (12.7 ppg) and Ian Miller (12.7 ppg). White also leads the team in rebounds with 6.8/g.

Wells Continues Scoring Streak Junior Dez Wells capped his fourth straight game with at least 18 points in an 18-point performance at North Carolina Tuesday. He shot 6-of-12 at the Smith Center, while also knocking down six free throws. Wells has been on a torrid scoring pace since scoring 19 points against then-No. 20 Pittsburgh on Jan. 25, averaging 19.3 points on 67 percent shooting over the last four games. The Raleigh, N.C. native’s best performance of the span came on Jan. 29 against Miami, when he scored all 21 of his points in the second half. Sidelined in the first half without taking a shot due to foul trouble, Wells went 7-for-7 from the field (6-for-6 FT’s) in the second half and knocked down the game-winning 3-pointer with 5.9 seconds remaining.

Statistically Speaking

Junior Evan Smotrycz has continued to shoot the ball well, shooting 55 percent (56 percent from 3-pt range) on 22-of-41 shooting over the last four games. He shot 9-of-36 (25 percent) in the previous three games.

Sophomore Jake Layman leads the Terps with 14.9 points/g on 49 percent shooting in home contests. He is also shooting a team-best 42 percent from 3-point land in Comcast Center.

Dez Wells is shooting a team-high 51 percent in Comcast, in addition to 85 percent from the free throw line (50-of-59).

Maryland is outrebounding opponents by an average margin of 8.1 rebound at home.

The Terps are 10-1 when leading at the half, and also 10-1 when holding opponents under 70 points. (see pg. 30 for all trends)